(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: Saludos and Greetings to all of our longtime and newest followers who are NASCAR Cup Series fans. We are pleased to share the good news that we will be covering this great Busch Light Clash At The Coliseum motorsport event for the first-time.

This is our Special Feature and Preview #1 to this gigantic heavyweight fan attraction scheduled for right here in our beloved City of the Angels and our iconic, historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, home to the USC Trojans. It also comes with our initial story of introducing you to two of the Top drivers scheduled to compete on Sunday, February 5th. We look forward to interviewing them “in-person” during the Clash over the span of this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Before we begin though, we’d like to set the tone for the important “Key” messages regarding NASCAR’s 75th “Diamond” Anniversary:

• 2023 marks 75 years since the sanctioning body was founded and incorporated in Daytona Beach, Fla. by Bill France Sr.
• The 75th Anniversary season will be a year-long celebration of the sport’s past, present and future, recognizing some of the most significant competitors, contributors and moments in the sport’s history while looking forward to the road ahead.

Now, let’s get started with a summary of my brief phone interview with Chase Briscoe, Driver of the #14 Mahindra Tractors Ford.

We spoke about his young start in a career as a 3rd generation NASCAR race car driver, his outstanding 2022 accomplishments (listed below), his advice to those fans who would like to become professional race car drivers of volunteering at local tracks or raceways where events are held, his thoughts on the “Diamond” 75th Anniversary which has given him a tremendous opportunity to do what he loves doing, his support of the diversity and inclusion initiative, and his sizing up of the “Clash” to start the new NASCAR season.

Chase’s resumé of highlights and stats from 2022/2021/2020 include the following:   

• In the spring 2022 Phoenix race, Briscoe fended off a fierce charge from Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick on the final restart to earn his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory  
• Briscoe compiled one win, (6) Top-five and (10) Top-10 finishes in 2022, surpassing his 2021 season total in both categories.
• Made the Playoffs in his sophomore season, advanced to the Round of 8 and finished 9^th in the Playoffs overall  
• Wrapped up 2022 with (6) Top-10 finishes in his last seven races 
• Finished third in the DAYTONA 500 and fourth in the Coca-Cola 600  
• 2021 marked Briscoe’s first full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he won the 2021 “Rookie of the Year” honors  
• Posted (9)wins during the 2020 Xfinity Series season, the most of any driver that year    
• Led 1,032 laps in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2020, the most of any other driver that season.    

Our second brief phone interview was with Ty Gibbs, Driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR).

At just 20 years of age, Ty has become one of the “shooting stars” in NASCAR with his exceptional skills and abilities as a highly competitive professional race car driver who can proudly and humbly boast of his huge accomplishments at such an early age.

I spoke with him prior to the upcoming race and he was very focused on reaching his incredible goals to date, his ambitions on the start of the new season this coming Sunday at the 2nd annual Busch Light Clash At the Coliseum, his competitive outlook for Sunday’s race, both from his driver and team’s perspectives, and lastly his thankfulness and good fortune on being able to participate in NASCAR’s 75th Diamond Anniversary year.

Ty is no stranger to California since he has very good memories of his father attending Stanford University and playing football there. With that said, he is always glad to return to a place like Los Angeles that he highly respects, and enjoys his time whenever he is here. When asked how he views his fellow drivers, he stated that he enjoys their company as colleagues and as competitors.   

Here is a list of his 2022/2021 accomplishments:

• Made the move in November of last year to the NASCAR Cup Series and race for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR).
• Claimed the Xfinity Series title in his first full-time season for the series at just 20 years old – amassing a total of seven wins, 16 top five and 23 top-10 finishes.  In addition, he won the Pole at Phoenix’s Championship Race, setting him up to lead 125 of the 200 laps.Gibbs entered the Championship Race with an impressive six wins – second in the Xfinity Series heading into that race.  
• At 20 years, 1 month and 1 day old, Gibbs became the fourth-youngest champ in series history, coming close to the likes of current Cup Series veterans Chase Elliott and William Byron.
• Made his Cup Series debut when he began filling in for Kurt Busch for 23XI Racing after the 2004 champion was injured 
• Scored (3) Top-20 finishes in his first three Cup Series starts, including a career best top-10 finish at Michigan International Speedway 
• Achieved a shining moment in the Xfinity Series that came in the summer at Road America as he out-dueled the 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson to win the Xfinity Series Henry 180 race 
• Chose Chris Gayle, who served as crew chief during his championship season, to move with him to serve as crew chief in the Cup Series 
• Named the 2021 Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year award